Loss of haspin suppresses cancer cell proliferation by interfering with cell cycle progression at multiple stages.

Our recent studies have shown that haspin, a protein kinase imperative for mitosis, is engaged in the interphase progression of HeLa and U2OS cancer cells. In this investigation, we employed the Fucci reporter system and time-lapse imaging to examine the impact of haspin gene silencing on cell cycle progressions at a single-cell level. We found that the loss of haspin induced multiple cell cycle defects. Specifically, the S/G2 duration was greatly prolonged by haspin gene depletion or inhibition in synchronous HeLa cells. Haspin gene depletion in asynchronous HeLa and U2OS cells led to a similarly protracted S/G2 phase, followed by mitotic cell death or postmitotic G1 arrest. In addition, haspin deficiency resulted in robust induction of the p21 checkpoint protein, a target of the p53 activation. Also, co-depleting haspin with either p21 or p53 could rescue U2OS cells from postmitotic G1 arrest and partially restore their proliferation. These results substantiate the haspin's capacity to regulate interphase and mitotic progression, offering a broader antiproliferative potential of haspin loss in cancer cells.